Rugby League - The Game That Got Away

[Eddie]

I watched a documentary from 1969 on Youtube last night (title above).
 

It offered a really interesting insight into the game back then, but what struck me most was the doom and gloom about how the game was struggling financially, being unable to compete with football, pressures from Union and how there was little media interest.

It seems that what some of the doom mongers on this forum love to say has been being said for at least 50 years (and probably more), but we’re still here

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

I'm currently reading Tony Collins' new book, and according to him that has pretty much been the prevailing view since 1895

[Man of Kent]

Low self-esteem from being Northern monkeys, innit. 

[RP London]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

I watched a documentary from 1969 on Youtube last night (title above).
 

It offered a really interesting insight into the game back then, but what struck me most was the doom and gloom about how the game was struggling financially, being unable to compete with football, pressures from Union and how there was little media interest.

It seems that what some of the doom mongers on this forum love to say has been being said for at least 50 years (and probably more), but we’re still here

you wouldnt believe it with some though.. things were always better in the old days etc. 

[Futtocks]

2 hours ago, Eddie said:

I watched a documentary from 1969 on Youtube last night (title above).
 

It offered a really interesting insight into the game back then, but what struck me most was the doom and gloom about how the game was struggling financially, being unable to compete with football, pressures from Union and how there was little media interest.

It seems that what some of the doom mongers on this forum love to say has been being said for at least 50 years (and probably more), but we’re still here

That's an excellent documentary - BBC4 showed in a RL-themed evening a few years back.

Talking of documentaries, I see "The Rugby Code Breakers" is currently available on the iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09w01q4/the-rugby-codebreakers

[JonM]

On 07/10/2020 at 10:23, Eddie said:

It offered a really interesting insight into the game back then, but what struck me most was the doom and gloom about how the game was struggling financially, being unable to compete with football, pressures from Union and how there was little media interest.

The game really was struggling back then, though. You only have to look at crowds in the early 1970s compared to now and see how few amateur clubs were still in existence when the formation of BARLA pulled everything back from the brink in 1973. If only they'd known that getting shot of Bill Fallowfield was the key step.

[Eddie]

39 minutes ago, JonM said:

The game really was struggling back then, though. You only have to look at crowds in the early 1970s compared to now and see how few amateur clubs were still in existence when the formation of BARLA pulled everything back from the brink in 1973. If only they'd known that getting shot of Bill Fallowfield was the key step.

Yeah I was reading earlier that Saints average crowd the year before Mal M signed was 5,000, and people say the game is dying now. 

[Eddie]

13 hours ago, JonM said:

The game really was struggling back then, though. You only have to look at crowds in the early 1970s compared to now and see how few amateur clubs were still in existence when the formation of BARLA pulled everything back from the brink in 1973. If only they'd known that getting shot of Bill Fallowfield was the key step.

Bill Fallowfield? Who was he?

[Robin Evans]

59 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Bill Fallowfield? Who was he?

Oh he was a darlin.....

[JonM]

1 hour ago, Eddie said:

Bill Fallowfield? Who was he?

He was the RFL secretary for nearly 30 years (i.e. in charge of running the game at a time when there were very few other full-time officials). I think history has not judged his time in charge kindly, although I suppose his reign started during the immediate postwar boom in attendance in all sports and things were always going to go downhill from there. He was a former Cambridge University and Northampton RU player, responsible for introducing the limited tackles rule in the late 60s. The game picked up rapidly in popularity after the Oxley/Howes administration took over in 1975. 

[Man of Kent]

To the modern eye, Bill Fallowfield can almost seem like an RFU agent. 

He tried to abolish the PTB in favour of RU rucking and banned BARLA clubs from playing on professional club grounds. I find his attitude to amateur rugby unfathomable.

On the other side of the ledger, he successfully proposed and introduced limited tackles. I think we can all agree RL is a better game for that.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Man of Kent said:

To the modern eye, Bill Fallowfield can almost seem like an RFU agent. 

He tried to abolish the PTB in favour of RU rucking and banned BARLA clubs from playing on professional club grounds. I find his attitude to amateur rugby unfathomable.

On the other side of the ledger, he successfully proposed and introduced limited tackles. I think we can all agree RL is a better game for that.

Fallowfield was an odd one; he made some decisions that were very good for the game, but also some that made little sense or even appeared damaging. I believe it was down to him that Wales didn't play an international game between 1947 and 1975, for instance.

Has RLW or anyone else done a detailed long-form article on this influential and divisive character? 

[JonM]

3 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

To the modern eye, Bill Fallowfield can almost seem like an RFU agent. 

He tried to abolish the PTB in favour of RU rucking and banned BARLA clubs from playing on professional club grounds. I find his attitude to amateur rugby unfathomable.

His attitude (which maybe wasn't uncommon at the time) was that RL was basically the professional version of "rugby" and a lot of his decisions followed on from that. The "rebel" formation of BARLA was a consequence (and one that really saved British RL IMO).

As ever, there was quite a lot of conflict with clubs looking after their own interests, with the international board running of the game, and a lot of battles over tv rights (many clubs were against televising of games as it cut gate receipts). 

[del capo]

18 hours ago, JonM said:

The game really was struggling back then, though. You only have to look at crowds in the early 1970s compared to now and see how few amateur clubs were still in existence when the formation of BARLA pulled everything back from the brink in 1973. If only they'd known that getting shot of Bill Fallowfield was the key step.

 He divided the game from its roots

 History will tell us that Barla   was  the games  salvation. Without that revolt  in 1973 the game would  by now be dead.   Yes . and without doubt..

Barla is now a shadow of its former self as the RFL seeing the way forward has taken over most of its aims. Maybe rightly so  as the  RFL are to an extent moneyed up and still so essential to our future, But the RFL still needs to understand and empathise with  those who play  on our local fields

 David Oxley ( a real  posh guy) understood that. These days  Ralph  Rimmer even more so .

 If only SL could get to the same thinking

Lets see where we get  to

[pahars]

7 hours ago, JonM said:

His attitude (which maybe wasn't uncommon at the time) was that RL was basically the professional version of "rugby" and a lot of his decisions followed on from that. The "rebel" formation of BARLA was a consequence (and one that really saved British RL IMO).

As ever, there was quite a lot of conflict with clubs looking after their own interests, with the international board running of the game, and a lot of battles over tv rights (many clubs were against televising of games as it cut gate receipts). 

So was his thinking that union players could be signed and therefore there wasn’t  a real need for amateur RL? I’ve always been puzzled by how things got to the stage that BARLA was needed. 

[del capo]

1 hour ago, pahars said:

So was his thinking that union players could be signed and therefore there wasn’t  a real need for amateur RL? I’ve always been puzzled by how things got to the stage that BARLA was needed. 

On this side of the  Pennines at least . the local amateur game had collapsed

.It  was that bad. Even Wigan RLFC   in the winter of 73  would call at my local for players to  make up their away team reserves....

Wigan District  was gone.

Guru Cliff Fleming at St Pats ( the only club left standing at that stage in Wigan ) needed to raid Whelleys U 18 each saturday to make up the numbers  in the Warrington League. - the pre - curser to North West Counties.  and only fixture league left

Tom Keaveney  ,  a wheel chaired mad Irish man from Huddersfield saved our game, He galvanised the amateurs into the 70s and 80s. That was Barla.s  'raison d'etre.' and contribution  to TGG.

Forget  nurturing  our roots and that will surely happen again With no recovery this time around.....

Oxley  and Lewis and now Rimmer well understand this.......

[Robin Evans]

10 hours ago, del capo said:

 

Forget  nurturing  our roots and that will surely happen again With no recovery this time around.....

Oxley  and Lewis and now Rimmer well understand this.......

There isn't an amateur team left in ponty or Selby. I think there maybe only 2 or 3 in donny left.

Many clubs are just hanging on.